We have been hard at work making the CalTopo Android and iOS apps a better experience. We recognize many of you haven’t had a chance to try out the app yet, but based on feedback from our current beta testers, it’s clear that using a data quota for mobile downloads is confusing. With that in mind we are switching from a quota based approach to a layer based approach for offline downloads.

The switch to a layer based approach only applies to offline use, while connected to the internet you will not see any changes at all to your subscription. This change will take place in approximately two weeks, from now until that time basic users can continue to download all layers. We will not be removing or restricting access to any data already on your device.

Basic users will be able to download a nearly unlimited quantity of standard resolution topographic maps including MapBuilder Topo. Scanned 7.5’ Maps, FSTopo, and the MapBuilder Overlay. You will still be able to use overlays and tools such as the slope angle shading layer and shaded relief.

Pro users will be able to download a nearly unlimited quantity of high resolution topographic maps as well as download a nearly unlimited amount of any aerial imagery layers including MapBuilder Hybrid and NAIP Aerial Imagery. You will also have access to all offline overlays and tools.

Desktop users will notice we renamed what was formerly the “offline” account level to desktop to avoid any confusion between the app and desktop. Access to the offline application for Mac and PC remains unchanged. Your account will include all the benefits of the pro subscription above for the mobile app as well as up to 300GB of data downloads for the Mac and PC app.

Thanks to all your feedback and beta testing, just in time for the weekend, we are releasing an update to both our iOS and Android apps! On top of general usability and stability fixes this release includes huge improvements to the offline downloader, improvements in recording tracks (and recovery if the app crashes while recording), and a few UI tweaks. The biggest news is due to numerous requests this release includes access to the layer we are calling Weekly High Res (Sentinel imagery layer) in the app for all pro subscription holders. While available in the app, this is only available online at this point. On the web this layer is still available to everyone, but disclaimer this will be restricted to pro users on the web as well at some point in the near future. We still have improvements to make, but keep that feedback coming, many of you will see things you specifically requested in this release or in a release coming soon! If you already have the app, you should see the update push out based on your settings for updates (wifi, power, etc). If you don’t have the app yet, Android app is in the play store. The iOS app can be downloaded here (you’ll need to install Testflight from the app store first): https://testflight.apple.com/join/dLwq62XW#justintimefortheweekend#caltopo#mappingevolved#getoutside#exploration#maps#topography#adventures#mountains#hiking#backpacking#skiing

CalTopo is growing and looking to fill two developer positions! These are full-time remote positions, but do require California residency for health insurance related reasons.

The following are not required but are considered pluses:

* A CalTopo user or outdoor enthusiast. This is a position where domain knowledge matters.

* OK with occasional travel to Truckee, CA (potentially up to several days a month, generally less). Although the position is remote, face time can be important for collaboration.

* Familiarity with some portion of our stack (Java for the website backend and Android app, Swift for iOS, Javascript and JQuery along with a growing sprinkling of React and TypeScript on the front end, and Python / PostGIS / GDAL / Mapnik for map rendering).

While applicant dependent, a likely distribution of work is going to be that one developer will focus more on the Python stack and new map layer development, with the other developer working on the site and app. We are open to all experience levels, but there’s a preference for more junior candidates (0-5ish years), as our current development team of 2 is fairly senior, and less-experienced candidates would help even out the mix.

Benefits include health insurance (coming soon, thus the California residency requirement), generous PTO, not having to commute to work, and of course the opportunity to work on an amazing product that’s widely used in the outdoor and first response communities. How would you like to build the next revision to MapBuilder or add the next killer feature to the app? CalTopo has big plans, come help us realize them.